HIV Hiding in Cells Can Now Be Measured, But Are We Closer to a Cure?
The road to a cure for HIV is long, winding, and with no definite end in sight.
That said, a new study published last month in the journal Nature is shedding light on a way to measure what is considered an inactive form of the virus that rests hidden in people’s cells.
This so-called “latent reservoir” of HIV has stood as a roadblock to eradicating the virus, stubbornly staying put despite being attacked by increasingly sophisticated antiretroviral drugs used to treat the virus.
For researchers in the HIV cure field, this new technique is a significant development because it offers a clearer look at how to pinpoint this viral reserve.
Why is this important?
Past tools are said to have greatly overestimated how much of this under-the-radar cache of virus existed in any given cell.
Now, measuring the reservoir to see how it responds to experimental therapies may be less of a shot in the dark.
https://www.healthline.com/health-n...y-measured#The-‘latent-reservoir’
Macrophages During Chronic Disease in Treated HIV-1 Infection
Indeed, myeloid cell-derived biomarkers of microbial translocation, such as IL-6, soluble CD14 (sCD14) or
sCD163 are found elevated in ART-treated individuals, as compared with age-matched controls, and are strongly associated with premature mortality of HIV-infected individuals (
191,
192). This
persistent pro-inflammatory state appears to feedback on intestinal macrophages as they become unable to phagocyte microbial debris in the lamina propria and are thus
unable to halt this inflammatory cycle (193).
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2017.01698/full
NIH-supported scientists develop tool to measure success of HIV cure strategies
Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new assay to accurately and easily count the cells that comprise the HIV reservoir, the stubborn obstacle to an HIV cure. This advance will enable researchers who are trying to eliminate the HIV reservoir to clearly understand whether their strategies are working.
NIAID Director
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., is available to comment
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/new...elop-tool-measure-success-hiv-cure-strategies
First in its class, great place to be 5-7 years ahead of the crowd! Looks like the crowd has cotton on.
No Journal publish, 100mg data and new blood assay results to measure the Latent Reservoir still not released.
No further trials Ann, just carrying further analysis to sure up results.
IP secured!!!!
DYOR
(20min delay)